Ore tax props up a nation
WA’s booming iron ore industry contributed nearly one-fifth of total company tax paid across the whole of Australia last year — about $15 billion — keeping the nation on its feet in the face of a devastating pandemic. And that does not include the $7.6b in royalties that flowed into State Government coffers in 2019-20, contributing to a record $3.1b surplus and prompting ratings agency S&P to label the WA economy the strongest in the world.